'Tangles' as he was known because of his ungainly bowling action that saw him occasionally trip himself up when running, was also an accomplished Aussie Rules player who was part of the Melbourne Demons squad until he received his Test call up in 1972.

'Big Maxy' went on to play thirty-eight test matches for Australia, taking 138 wickets, as well as twenty-nine One Day Internationals between 1974 and 1981, including matches during the revolutionary World Series Cricket series from 1977 to 1979.

So sad to hear of the passing of Max Walker. What a great cricketer, author and story teller. Ripper bloke whose smile lit up a room! #263 😪

After he retired in 1982 Walker moved into the commentators box, firstly at the ABC and then at Channel 9 where he was an accomplished sports reporter as well as host of The Sunday AFL Footy Show and Wide World Of Sports.

On his website Walker wrote about his transition to TV:

"I was very fortunate to make the transition from player to commentator within a week of retirement," he wrote.

"After four years of talking about the game on radio I was head hunted to join Richie Benaud and his team in the Nine booth.

"My involvement with the commentary team ended in 1991 with the birth of my daughter Alexandra. I had to make a choice between travelling the world, talking about cricket, or a family lifestyle. I chose the latter."

He also published a string of highly successful books including "How To Hypnotize Chooks" which highlighted his love of a good yarn and having a laugh.